Taizhou, Jiangsu

Taizhou (zh-cp|c=泰州|p=Tàizhōu) is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Situated on the north bank of the Yangtze River, it borders Nantong to the east, Yancheng to the north and Yangzhou to the west.

Taizhou is the hometown of the current Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Administration

The prefecture-level city of Taizhou administers 6 county-level divisions, including 2 districts and 4 county-level cities.

* Hailing District (海陵区)
* Gaogang District (高港区)
* Jiangyan City (姜堰市)
* Jingjiang City (靖江市)
* Taixing City (泰兴市)
* Xinghua City (兴化市)

These are further divided into 105 township-level divisions, including 91 towns, 8 townships and 6 subdistricts.

Geography and climate

At the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Jinghang Canal (Grand Canal of China), in the mid south of Jiangsu province, the north bank of lower reaches of the Yangtze river, the south end of Jianghuai Plain. It is at 1190°56' east and 320°30' north.

Neighboring Areas: Yangzhou to the west, Nantong to the east, and Yancheng to the north.

History

Taizhou is a city with a long history. It was called "Haiyang" (Simplified Chinese: 海阳; Traditional Chinese: 海阳; pinyin: Hǎiyáng) in the Chunqiu Period, and "Hailing" (Simplified Chinese: 海陵; Traditional Chinese: 海陵; pinyin: Hǎilíng) during the Western Han Dynasty. It was named Hailing county in 117 B.C. It was famous during Eastern Jin Dynasty on a par with Jinling (Nanjing) and Guangling (Yangzhou), Lanling (Changzhou). It was named "Taizhou prefecture" in Southern Tang Dynasty, which means 'Peaceful country and lucky citizens'. The name has been kept since then for 2100 years.

Taizhou became independent of its larger neighbour Yangzhou in the 10th century AD. Under the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), it was a center of the salt trade, and like Yangzhou, was the home of many wealthy salt merchants. In 1952, a new canal and ship locks were constructed to link Taizhou with the Yangzi River.

With a history of over 2100 years, Taizhou enjoys the reputation of "Ancient County in Han and Tang Dynasties and Famous District alongside the coast of the Yellow Sea". Through ages, it has seen gatherings of great talents and famous merchants. It was ever a political, economic, cultural and transportation center in Central Jiangsu. It is also the hometown of great artistic Masters like Shi Nai'an, Zheng Banqiao, and Mei Lanfang, etc, the birth place of the Navy of Chinese People's Liberation Army. It is now one of the famous historical and cultural cities of Jiangsu province.

Economy

Taizhou is a center for flour mills, textile works, fishing net manufacturing, and other industries based on local agriculture.

Having a favorable geographical location, rich resources and solid economic foundation, Taizhou was approved by the State's Council to be one of the open coastal cities. In the past 20 years, the economic growth has remained at an average annual rate of over 10%. It is one of the central cities inside the Yangtse River Delta for its developed industry, convenient transportation and prosperous commerce. In 2007, the GDP reached RMB 120.22 billion yuan, the GDP per capita RMB 26,093 yuan, the fiscal revenue RMB 21.14 billion yuan, the total amount of bank deposits RMB 112.7 billion yuan. Five county-level cities or districts are ranked among the "China's Top 100 Counties with Greatest Comprehensive Power". It boasts numbers of large-sized enterprises or groups, such as Chunlan Group Corp.

Taizhou was among the first few cities in Jiangsu to be recognized as having a famous cultural history. In 1990, Heheng village in Jiangyan county was awarded Global 500 Roll of Honor by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) because of its success in protecting the environment while increasing the grain yield and its wide use of marsh biogas ponds.

ister cities

Thus far, Taizhou has six sister cities.
* Newport News, Virginia, USA
* La Trobe, Victoria, Australia
* Eumseong County, Republic of Korea
* Kotka, Finland
* Lower Hutt, New Zealand
* Barrie, Ontario, Canada

Transportation

The Nanjing-Jinjiang-Yancheng Highway passes through from south to north and National Highway 328 goes from west to east.

The routes to get to Taizhou includes:
* Take buses from Shanghai or Nanjing through National Highway 328 or Nanjing-Jinjiang-Yancheng Highway.
* Take trains from Beijing through Xinyi-Changxing Railway (新长铁路) or Nanjing through Nanjing-Qidong Railway (宁启铁路).

Companies headquartered in Taizhou

* Chunlan Group Corp
* Linghai Motocyle Corp

Tourism

* Gardens and Parks
**Qintong Boat Festival, Jiangyan (溱潼会船节)Qintong Boat Festival is held in Qingming (around April 4-6) every year. During the festival boats from nearby villages and towns converge in Xique lake for a few days of rejoicing. Theatrical performances, dragon and lion dances, and other folk dances are staged right on board the boats.
** Xique Lake, Jiangyan (喜鹊湖)The lake located in Qingtong town, 15 km north of Jiangyan city. The water was composed of Nanhu (南湖), Xique (喜鹊湖), and Beihu (北湖). It is part of Qintong Swamp.
** Père David's Deer Reserve, Jiangyan (麋鹿故乡园)Biggest reserve outside of Dafeng.
** Taizhou Park
** Heheng Agricultural Tour, Shengao, Jiangyan

* Museum
** Navy Birthplace Museum
** Hu Jintao Birthplace Museum, Jiangyan

Colleges and schools

* Jiangsu Taizhou Zhongxue (江苏省泰州中学)
* Jiangsu Jiangyan Zhongxue (江苏省姜堰中学)
* Jiangsu Taixing Zhongxue (江苏省泰兴中学)

* Jiangsu xinghua Zhongxue (江苏省兴化中学)

External links

* [http://www.taizhou.gov.cn Government website of Taizhou] (available in Chinese and English)
* [http://taizhou.jiangsu.net Taizhou comprehensive guide with open directory] (Jiangsu.NET)
* [http://61.132.43.189/hcj/ Qintong Boat Festival]